A Real Look At Real World Corporate Governance

A Real Look at Real World Corporate Governance takes a practical look at issues involving the board of directors, CEO succession planning, executive compensation, and accounting and internal controls. Written in a clear and accessible style by two leading experts, this book is a must-read for executives, directors, shareholders, and anyone else interested in how companies are run and how to make them better. Each chapter examines a current and important issue, bringing together compelling research and relevant examples to understand which practices are necessary to improve corporate performance.

This book takes the whole issue of ethical business and places it firmly in the realm of market reality - relating effective and implementable corporate governance to the bottom line.

Corporate Governance Matters gives corporate board members, officers, directors, and other stakeholders the full spectrum of knowledge they need to implement and sustain superior governance. Authored by two leading experts, this comprehensive reference thoroughly addresses every component of governance. The authors carefully synthesize current academic and professional research, summarizing what is known, what is unknown, and where the evidence remains inconclusive. Along the way, they illuminate many key topics overlooked in previous books on the subject. Coverage includes: International corporate governance. Compensation, equity ownership, incentives, and the labor market for CEOs. Optimal board structure, tradeoffs, and consequences. Governance, organizational strategy, business models, and risk management. Succession planning. Financial reporting and external audit. The market for corporate control. Roles of institutional and activist shareholders. Governance ratings. The authors offer models and frameworks demonstrating how the components of governance fit together, with concrete examples illustrating key points. Throughout, their balanced approach is focused strictly on two goals: to “get the story straight,” and to provide useful tools for making better, more informed decisions.

Even in the wake of the biggest financial crash of the postwar era, the United States continues to rely on Securities and Exchange Commission oversight and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which set tougher rules for boards, management, and public accounting firms to protect the interests of shareholders. Such reliance is badly misplaced. In Corporate Governance, Jonathan Macey argues that less government regulation--not more--is what's needed to ensure that managers of public companies keep their promises to investors. Macey tells how heightened government oversight has put a stranglehold on what is the best protection against malfeasance by self-serving management: the market itself. Corporate governance, he shows, is about keeping promises to shareholders; failure to do so results in diminished investor confidence, which leads to capital flight and other dire economic consequences. Macey explains the relationship between corporate governance and the various market and nonmarket institutions and mechanisms used to control public corporations; he discusses how nonmarket corporate governance devices such as boards and whistle-blowers are highly susceptible to being co-opted by management and are generally guided more by self-interest and personal greed than by investor interests. In contrast, market-driven mechanisms such as trading and takeovers represent more reliable solutions to the problem of corporate governance. Inefficient regulations are increasingly hampering these important and truly effective corporate controls. Macey examines a variety of possible means of corporate governance, including shareholder voting, hedge funds, and private equity funds. Corporate Governance reveals why the market is the best guardian of shareholder interests.

For many Americans, capitalism is a dynamic engine of prosperity that rewards the bold, the daring, and the hardworking. But to many outside the United States, capitalism seems like an initiative that serves only to concentrate power and wealth in the hands of a few hereditary oligarchies. As A History of Corporate Governance around the World shows, neither conception is wrong. In this volume, some of the brightest minds in the field of economics present new empirical research that suggests that each side of the debate has something to offer the other. Free enterprise and well-developed financial systems are proven to produce growth in those countries that have them. But research also suggests that in some other capitalist countries, arrangements truly do concentrate corporate ownership in the hands of a few wealthy families. A History of Corporate Governance around the World provides historical studies of the patterns of corporate governance in several countries-including the large industrial economies of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States; larger developing economies like China and India; and alternative models like those of the Netherlands and Sweden.

The Definitive Guide to High-Performance Corporate Governance Fully updated for the latest research, trends, and regulations, Corporate Governance Matters, Third Edition, offers comprehensive and objective information for everyone seeking to improve corporate governance—from directors to institutional investors to policymakers and researchers. To help you design highly effective governance, David Larcker and Brian Tayan thoroughly examine current options, reviewing what is and isn't known about their impact on organizational performance. Throughout, they take a strictly empirical and non-ideological approach that reflects rigorous statistical and research analysis and real-life examples. They address issues ranging from board structure, processes, operations, and functional responsibilities to institutional investors, outside stakeholders, and alternative forms of governance. New discussions of: Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) activity and ratings Stakeholder interests CEO activism CEO misbehavior Cybersecurity risks Extensively revised coverage of: Executive compensation Leadership and succession planning Director recruitment, evaluation, turnover, and more The authors' balanced approach provides useful tools for making better, more informed decisions on governance.

Governance is receiving a lot of attention at the moment. In every recession and after every corporate collapse there's a determination to learn the lesson this time, so it's not surprising that corporate governance is again in the spotlight, and the usual questions are being asked. What is the role of the director? Should there be more, less or better regulation? How should remuneration of executives be set? To whom should directors be accountable? And the scandal of MPs' expenses is a governance issue too: the language may change, but the questions remain similar. What is the role of the Speaker? Should MPs be responsible for determining their own pay? How should MPs' expenses claims be settled and regulated? Governance is not just an issue for the select few running blue-chip companies: it is an integral part of management. Real managers who run real businesses and not for profit organisations, whatever their size, need to deal with the issue and see it as an opportunity to work better. This book is a lively, well-argued and practical guide to corporate governance and how to make it work.

Praise for Corporate Governance Best Practices "A thorough and thoughtful guidebook on the governance lay of the land." -Professor Charles M. Elson, Woolard Chair in Corporate Governance and Director of Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance, University of Delaware "Frederick Lipman provides a comprehensive approach to best corporate governance practices for all organizations, which is current, thoughtful, and practical. Directors and corporate governance personnel of public, private, and not-for-profit organizations must read this book." -Professor Raphael H. Amit, Director of Goergen Entrepreneurial Management Program, Wharton School of Business "Fred Lipman is considered by many directors and CEOs to be the preeminent expert on corporate governance in the country. His advice on this important topic, which impacts the boards of all types of organizations-public, private, and not-for-profit-is required reading in this day and age." -Frederick (Ted) Peters, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Bryn Mawr Bank Corporation (aka The Bryn Mawr Trust Company) "Boards of directors must be aware of best corporate governance practices in order to be effective in their oversight role and that is true for all not-for-profit organizations, including universities, as well as public and private companies. Frederick Lipman has authored a practical and comprehensive guide to 'best practices' for all boards of directors, which is required reading." -George P. Tsetsekos, PhD, Dean, Bennett S. LeBow College of Business, Drexel University "In a world of 'good,' 'better,' 'best,' where 'good' and 'better' may not be good enough, Fred Lipman's new book is a straightforward, and even comforting, compendium of BEST governance practices for serious directors. It is a handy and reassuring tool for the conscientious." -Allen R. Freedman, Audit Committee Chairman, StoneMor Partners LP,Founding Director, Association of Audit Committee Members